The Merry Past 



their steeds in a capable manner. The French nation, 

 it was said, always regretted that Louis XVIII could 

 not be seen on horseback, calculating that he who has 

 to manage the reins of government ought, at least, to 

 know how to handle those of his horse — they remem- 

 bered that Henri Quatre, the Roi Soleil, and Frederick 

 the Great, not forgetting Alexander of old, were all 

 first-rate riders. A king cannot show himself to his 

 army and people without this, nor a queen either : 

 the Empress Marie Louise rode the high-horse in great 

 style, although Napoleon took her down upon one 

 occasion when she was enceinte and forbidden to take 

 this exercise. 



Hunting with the old French kings was always the 

 occasion for much spectacular display. 



The equipage or hunting establishment and turn- 

 out of Louis the Fifteenth was splendid, in carriages, 

 horses, guards, and attendants. Many of the nobility 

 had what they called a voiture de chasse, frequently 

 drawn by three horses abreast, like some of our 

 omnibuses. The idea was taken from the four-in- 

 hand of the Romans, which were driven abreast 

 instead of by leaders and wheel-horses. This lasted 

 up to the time of Louis the Sixteenth, when consider- 

 able importance was still attached to the chase, where 

 even ambassadors and courtiers paid their duty to 

 the monarch, and where sometimes intrigue and 

 politics were mixed up with the day's sport. 



The more closely to unite devotees of the chase 

 together, there was instituted on the Continent the 

 Order of St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, 



70 



